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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29389086">a helping hand</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/whalersandsailors/pseuds/whalersandsailors'>whalersandsailors</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Terror (TV 2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Hand Jobs, M/M, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, just boys being boys, mates helping out a mate, you know</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:08:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,196</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29389086</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/whalersandsailors/pseuds/whalersandsailors</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Private Heather pays Edward a visit in his cabin.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>William Heather/Edward Little</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>The Terror Bingo, The Terror Rarepair Week 2021</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>a helping hand</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I've been thinking about this pairing and this scenario all week, so here y'all go</p>
<p>for TRPW's prompt <strong>'Don't pretend'</strong> as well as a Terror Bingo fill for <strong>William Heather</strong></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Long before <em>Terror </em>left Greenhithe, Edward knew winter would be difficult during the voyage. Even on land and in the comfort of his home, gloominess clung to him like droplets of rain on his coat when the days grew cold and dark.</p>
<p>But despite his familiarity with such heaviness, Edward finds it hard to shake for even a moment while he writes his daily report. The quill sits poised in his hand, but his eyes are staring at the bulkhead, his chin resting in his other hand, elbow propped on the desk. Every few seconds he sighs, glancing down at the logbook only to dully raise his eyes to the wall again.</p>
<p>Someone knocks on his door, and he drops the quill, wincing when ink spills onto the paper.</p>
<p>“Come!” he says, hastily trying to clean up the mess before it ruins the page.</p>
<p>The door slides open and shut, the floor creaking lightly.</p>
<p>Edward expects that it is Gibson at his door, but when he looks up, he is surprised to see not his steward but Private Heather. Edward stares, and Private Heather bashfully looks to the floor.</p>
<p>“Pardon me, sir,” he says. “I know this is out of the ordinary. I’m here on the sergeant’s orders.”</p>
<p>“Sergeant Tozer? Whatever for?”</p>
<p>“Well, sir—” He shuffles his feet before bravely raising his face. “For you, sir. He would have come himself but hadn’t the chance, and he trusts me to take care of you in his place.”</p>
<p>Something in the words makes Edward’s chest hum with anticipation, but he cannot begin to fathom what on earth Tozer must mean by such a ridiculous statement.</p>
<p>“Take care of me? Neither of you are stewards, and I can assure that I—”</p>
<p>Edward’s voice trails when Heather takes a step closer. He is acutely aware how tiny his cabin is, how much Heather fills the space with his broad shoulders, his wide belly.</p>
<p>“In the same manner we Marines look out for one another,” Heather tells him. “‘Tis a hard life at sea, and when we see that one of our lads needs a helping hand, we…” He inclines his head, “assist.”</p>
<p>Edward turns to his logbook. The ink stain glares up at him, but Edward suddenly feels bold. He sets the quill aside.</p>
<p>“And how do you assist, Private Heather?”</p>
<p>There is no mockery in the smile Heather gives him. That assuages some of Edward’s nerves.</p>
<p>“Many ways,” Heather says, pitching his voice low. “Though I want to be clear, sir, that if you do not want me here, I will gladly turn round and leave.”</p>
<p>Edward swallows, glancing over Heather’s shoulder at the slats in his door. The passageway outside is silent, and his cabin is situated in an advantageous and safe corner of the ship.</p>
<p>“Did Sergeant Tozer give you specific orders?”</p>
<p>A breathy chuckle from Heather. “He made some suggestions, sir, but then I reminded him that I was just as capable as he.” Here, he straightens, pulls his shoulders back, meets Edward’s eye; the perfect image of polish and service. “Would you like to remain seated, sir? Or would you rather lie back?”</p>
<p>“I...” Edward hesitates, the gravity of what he is about to do making him jittery, “’I’ll lie back.”</p>
<p>“All right.” Heather steps aside, letting Edward pass him to recline on his berth.</p>
<p>“What now?” Edward asks, hating how his voice shakes.</p>
<p>Heather lays his hand on Edward’s knee. “It’s fine if you’re nervous, sir. You don’t have to pretend you’re not.”</p>
<p>Edward bristles, but with one look in Heather’s kind face, any retort dies on his tongue.</p>
<p>“I don’t have much time m’self,” Heather continues, sliding one knee onto the bed between Edward’s legs, “so we’ll have to be quick about it. But I’ll make it good for you, sir.”</p>
<p>Edward no longer trusts his voice, so he simply nods. He lets Heather take charge, unbuttoning his trousers, rubbing his hand on Edward’s thigh when he spooks. Once Edward has relaxed again, he retrieves Edward’s half-hard cock from under his shirttails. Heather situates himself so that he’s seated fully on the bed, and with one hand loosely fisted around Edward’s cock, he uses his other hand to cup Edward’s stones.</p>
<p>“Now I know all men’s tastes are different,” Heather says with a smile; again, without a trace of meanness, “so you tell me how you like it.”</p>
<p>Heather tightens his hold, bending his wrist. Edward sucks a breath through his teeth, his eyes fluttering shut.</p>
<p>“Like that, sir?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Edward breathes.</p>
<p>Heather sets a brisk pace pulling his cock, with his forefinger curled around the shaft, his thumb tracing the vein along the underside and circling the tip with every stroke. Edward pants, trying to keep quiet. His head tips back, brushing against the wall as he bucks into Heather’s hand.</p>
<p>“There you are, sir. Let it all go.”</p>
<p>The fingers between his legs massage and squeeze in equal part, and as his stones draw tight to his body, Edward whispers, “Lower, please.”</p>
<p>Heather’s pace stutters for a moment before he slides past Edward’s stones, petting the skin between his legs and brushing the pad of his finger over Edward’s entrance.</p>
<p>“Like that, sir?”</p>
<p>“Yes, <em>please, </em>yes.” Edward’s skin prickles under the pressure, and he instinctively bucks again.</p>
<p>Heather continues; one hand moving furiously on Edward’s cock, the other rubbing and pressing against Edward’s hole. When Edward comes, it is sudden and violent. He claps a hand over his mouth, biting the inside of his cheek to keep himself from crying out. His legs go rigid, but Heather holds him down, easing through it, catching the seed in his hand. Edward slumps back onto the bed. As he catches his breath, his hand slides from his face and thumps against decorative railing beside his head. His limbs feel deliciously boneless, and for a few blissful seconds, Edward exists in his body without the usual barrage of constant anxieties stampeding through his head.</p>
<p>Heather seems unaffected except for the ruddiness on his cheeks. He tucks Edward’s prick back into his trousers before standing.</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Edward says, still somewhat breathless.</p>
<p>“Not a problem, sir. Like I said, we Marines look out for each other. It’s no trouble to extend that to friends.”</p>
<p>If Edward weren’t already knocked off-balance, the declaration of friendship would have stopped him short. He sits up, his tongue darting out to wet his lips, his eyes staring at anything but Heather’s face—or god forbid, anywhere below his waist.</p>
<p>“Might I return the favor?” he asks.</p>
<p>Heather snorts. “Not tonight, sir. This was for you.” He pauses at the door, listening for anyone outside, but before he leaves, he glances back at Edward with the beginnings of a sly smirk. “Though next time, I think Sergeant Tozer would like to be involved. Maybe the three of us can find a moment alone, eh, sir?”</p>
<p>With that incendiary idea dropped onto Edward’s lap, Heather slides the cabin door open and leaves.</p>
<p>And as though he were once again a midshipman discovering the pleasures of his hand and reveling in the endurance only a youth may have, Edward’s cock stirs.</p>
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